Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called the attacks on his religion at the Republican National Convention “preposterous” on Thursday.
The former vice president responded to convention speakers taking several jabs at how he practices his Catholicism, including from former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz who called Biden a “Catholic in name only” on Wednesday.
“I think it’s kind of preposterous to a guy who hardly ever darkens the door of a church,” Biden told MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” in a reference to President Trump.
Biden said that he distinguishes his personal beliefs from policies he sets to implement for everyone.
“My private beliefs relative to how I would deal with the church doctrine is different than my imposing that doctrine on every other person in the world — equally decent Christians and Jews and Muslims and Buddhists, etc.,” he said.
“But the point of the matter is I’m a practicing Catholic, I don’t proselytize about it, I never miss mass,” he added. “It’s part of who I am. It’s what gets me through the really difficult times in my life, and I believe it very strongly.”
The Democratic candidate’s religion has come under attack by the president and his campaign as Trump seeks to continue his support among evangelical Christians.
Trump took to Twitter last weekend to criticize the Democratic National Convention for taking the word “God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
But the word was said every night for each of the four days, although some speakers did not say it during the Muslim Delegates and Allies Assembly and the LGTBQ Caucus meeting, which was not part of the main programming.
Earlier this month, the president also claimed during a speech in Cleveland that Biden is “against God” and will “hurt the Bible.” The former vice president responded in a statement later that day calling the criticism “shameful” and saying his faith is the “bedrock foundation of my life.”